What's it all about?

40 nights for the orphans of India. My 'Lent in a Tent' is about raising hugely needed funds for 'Shining Faces in India' orphanage in Salem, Tamil Nadhu, by sleeping ouside the Chaplaincy at King's Bruton for 40 nights. My target is at least £10,000 - which amazingly is only enough to feed the hundreds of children there for about two months.I hope that many might be inspired to trade 40 pounds for my 40 nights. Actually, in the back of my mind I'm convinced that we could smash through the target and go much much further ... I wonder.

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Colour colour everywhere ... after 8/40

What a night! A whipping from the wind washed down with rivers of rain. But I'm happy to report to Jayaraj, leader of the orphanage ... still no snakes!

You may wonder why on earth he's worried about snakes, but if you'd been there when our last team of ten arrived for their 2 months of service among the children, you too would have seen the spitting cobra writhing around the arm of the man who'd caught it and brought it to us see! Lethal with one strike. He's wise to worry about snakes.

Anyway ... colour! I wrote after night 5/40 about the living palette of colour that the children of the orphanage are. As I contemplated the inner greyness of my tent last night ... smiling of couse after that evening's post ... the colours if India came back. Everything just pours out colour.

Suffice it to say this is the girl's hostel building. The boys is a bit less striking! The great thing, though, is that loads of the colour around the site has been added by the teams of boys and girls on our programme. There's something new ever time I go - the Taj Mahal in large on the wall of the school, a map of the whole world, the States of India, the Golden Gate Bridge!

The children love it, of course. Plain walls are assaulted by an army of yellows, reds, blues and greens. Their territory overcome, vibrant colour takes up residence. And what a difference!

So, I plan to dress colourfully today, and I'm desperately hoping that the press photographer who visited me this morning has managed to capture some colour from my rather grey and sleepy features ...

Continued thanks to all who have donated. With pledges on account the children are currently guaranteed £1700 from our target ten thousand. Still convinced we can smash it!